Stanford and Waseda renew century-long baseball tradition at Sunken Diamond

Waseda University of Japan traveled roughly 5,150 miles across the North Pacific Ocean for an exhibition game against Stanford Baseball this afternoon. Waseda played its first game on American soil against the Cardinal way back in 1905, and the two have since established a deep connection athletically, academically and socially.

Sophomore first baseman Rintaro Sasaki, originally from Hanamaki, Japan, knew some of the athletes from Waseda University.

“I knew them from high school or work,” Sasaki said. “They came in at the practice on this Monday, so we talked about anything, about life [and] baseball.”

The Cardinal were proud to continue the tradition of hosting Waseda and connecting the two universities.

“With Rintaro in our Stanford baseball family, you know, it’s great to have that connection with Waseda and bring them over here,” said head coach David Esquer.

Sasaki, fluent in Japanese, attempted to bond the two teams, as well as teaching the Cardinal what kind of chants the Bears were yelling from the visitor’s dugout.

“I speak Japanese too, so [I tried to get everyone] to speak Japanese with [the other team], like on the base or like the bullpens or something. I used to try teaching them Japanese… but everyone doesn’t get it even when you say it, so I just translated the whole time,” Sasaki said.

Stanford ultimately defeated the Bears 11-3, featuring six runs in the bottom of the seventh inning alone. The Cardinal used the exhibition game as an opportunity to evaluate their younger players, especially their pitchers.

“It’s a good opportunity to get some players that maybe haven’t been in the regular games a chance to play against really good competition, so it was fun to get a chance to watch them play and get a little bit of a nine-inning look at them,” said Esquer.

Stanford played nine pitchers in nine innings, and of the 11 starting players (including a pitcher and extra hitter), seven were freshmen. The typical starting lineup, with the exception of Sasaki, watched the game from the dugout, cheering on their rookies.

“The older guys support us so much,” said freshman designated hitter and first baseman Teddy Tokheim.

Tokheim hit two RBIs, driving in a total of five runners, three of which came in on a 3-RBI triple in the bottom of the seventh inning.

“I think going into this game, it’s my first opportunity or the first couple opportunities to really show what I can do, so it’s definitely pretty fun to put some runs on the board,” Tokheim said.

The fourth inning saw freshman center fielder Brock Keltelsen’s first collegiate home run at a whopping 402 feet to right field.

Stanford also saw RBIs from Ketelson, sophomore pitcher Henry McDonald and senior left fielder Cort MacDonald. “If they did well here, we feel like we got confidence they could do it in a regular game,” said Esquer.

The game concluded with a customary gift exchange between the two teams, including baseball caps. “We’d love to make a return trip and go to Japan and play there too,” said Esquer.

The Cardinal return to Sunken Diamond this weekend for a three-game series against Fresno State.

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